Bridging the Gap: Using Puzzle Skills in Real Chess Games

[@masonparkman5567]

Great lesson, Can! Thanks you!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

My pleasure!

[@AndytheHumphrey]

An important video for applying training to actual chess, thank you to the best chess coach on YT! PS have a solution to the puzzle but will give others a chance

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much for your extremely kind words. Thanks for giving the others a chance! ☺️

[@CC-ii3ij]

Fantastic! My puzzle rating is 1600 points higher than my actual rating, and I frequently lose on time.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you! I hope this video will help bridge that gap!

[@Joetjoeppuntkom]

You do remind me with this video why I like your courses on Chessable so much 😊

[@Dr.CansClinic]

❤️😊

[@diveshhassamal25]

You are an amazing coach. I am going to buy your chessable course really soon

[@diveshhassamal25]

Also can you please give more French defence course the other variations would be really helpful

[@Dr.CansClinic]

That is so nice to hear, thank you for your motivating feedback! And please don't hesitate asking me anything once you get the course!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

The French Patterns will surely continue!

[@perteadsf4914]

I recognize this problem in my chess, but Chessable really does not work for me. Is your course published in a book format, or can you recommend another book with mixed puzzles?

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thanks! I heard good things about Coakley's Chess Exercises for Kids. It is a physical book having mixed puzzles.

[@markosborn3079]

This video sums up a lot of my recent experience trying to improve. Knowledge is pretty good, but implemetation is lacking. I have far too many "oh no, how did I miss that?" moments when I realise that I missed the correct move in a position. For the puzzle: I want to play Nd5 straight away because it's just such a good square for the Knight and opens up the b2 Bishop. And as an even bigger plus, it buries the h4 Knight, which isn't going anywhere soon! Thank you for this excellent tuition! 🙂

[@Dr.CansClinic]

I love this feedback, thank you so much for writing it. I hope my course on Chessable will help bridge that gap! Nd5 is a great positional move, but what if I told you there was a tactical solution, winning a piece by force on the second move? ☺️

[@markosborn3079]

@@Dr.CansClinic aha... g4 to follow, nice! Although, it looks like just playing g4 straight away is more forcing.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

@@markosborn3079 Yes, 1. g4! wins! :)

[@riwaaraafat4254]

Great explanation !

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Glad it helped!

[@3Slippers]

This perfectly applies to my chess. Puzzles rating double my Rapid. Great video, thankyou!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you for sharing! I hope following this advice will help bridge that gap!

[@PascalHengster]

Again a sensational Video!!! 1. g4 Kf6/g7 (doesn t actually Matter) 2. g5 is winnig material

[@3Slippers]

ahhhhh, I would've planted a knight on d5 and been very happy :)

[@screamingliner]

This lesson owes a debt to "Tune Your Chess Tactics Antenna" by Emmanuel Nieman (also available on Chessable). It's easily the book that improved my tactics the most.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thanks for mentioning that book, I heard good things about it too!

[@sjefke7206]

@Dr.CansClinic how do you think how players such as Steinitz, Morphy, Kolish Zukertort Chigorin became so good at tactics without lichess, puzzlerush, puzzle books etc? Thanks for the lecture!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you for the great question! I think they learned it by playing/analysing/studying older games. Obviously those were very talented guys too with great tactical vision and the ability to smell dynamic situations.

[@elijahzarwan]

my puzzle rating is 2.6x my rapid rating

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thanks for sharing! Do you think this video helped identifying a possible solution?

[@elijahzarwan]

@@Dr.CansClinic I'll have to get your course! ;) Lots of good suggestions here, but I like the "reverse-engineering" technique especially. Most of my losses are because I get in time trouble and throw away great positions. Anything to speed the decision-making process in the middle game has to be useful.

[@jonnyjansson7320]

As always, a great lesson! I found todays homework position quite easy, because it is tactical. There are two tactical motifs: fork and trapable pieces. The bishop on h6 has only one square to move to and the knight has two. On top of that one of the squares are the same for both these pieces. This position is in spirit very similar to the english position you showed earlier in the video, where a pawn first move one step attacking a bishop which has to move away and the move forward again forkin a knight and the other bishop. Therefore, my solution to this puzzle is : 1.g4 hitting the knight and if 1..Nf6 then 2.g5 forks the knght and the bishop. If black plays 1..Ng7, then 2.g5 traps the bishop. If it had been a strategical puzzle, I think it would have been another matter; I solved two of the strategical positions you showed in this video incorrectly. Since, you asked: My puzzle rating is just above 2900 and it is approximately 1200 Elo points more than my rapid rating ( I only play 10 minute games without increment on Chess...). In 5 minute puzzle rush, I usallly get between 27 to 32 puzzles right before the time runs out, with an average time per puzzle between 8-10 sec per puzzle. I totally agree, that you have to mix strategic and tactical puzzles. I did a lot of tactictical puzzles between 2006 and 2009, focusing on two things: calculating all relevant variations and on speed (not on the same time and not moving the pieces of course). This propelled me from being a 1700-player to being a 1900-player (OTB FIDE Classical). I didn't have the problem of not seeing the tactics in my games compared to seeing the tactics in puzzles, because I came across Silman's three conditions for when tactics exist. He said that tactics might exist if at least one of the following three conditions are fulfilled: 1) The opponent has a weak king, 2) The opponent has undefended pieces. 3) The opponent has inadequately defended pieces (attacked and defended equal number of times). I have since then been stucked on this level whatever I do. The interesting thing is that when I compare what you say and Silman's rules, I find that your approach is more general. It also seems to me that Silman treats strategy and tactics as separate beasts which you don't (I'm referring to his book: How to reassess your Chess, 3Ed 1992). I think this why I only have had partial success with this training. When I play 10 minute games on Chess... my tactical ability and endgame technique usually keep 1600 and 1700 players at bay, but I'm regularly beeing crushed by 1800 players. My conclusion is that I'm at least 1800 when it comes to tactics and endgames, but just 1500 when it comes to positional and strategic play (Here I refer to your climbing the rating ladder series)

[@Dr.CansClinic]

I really love this comment, thank you so very much for taking your time and giving me all this feedback! 1) Great solution to the homework. 2) Did Silman's list for tactical situations also include "piece alignment"? For example when the knight on c6 and the bishop on e6 allowed the pawn fork tactic with d4 + d5. 3) Interesting observations about your own games, also referring to the climbing the rating ladder series! To me, you need to study my courses on strategy to fill this gap :) How about the art of awakening pieces + exchanging pieces ☺️ Please keep me posted on your future progress. Super curious!

[@jonnyjansson7320]

Silman doesn't include piece alignment. After rereading the relavant pages in his book, and also the introduction in the book winning chess tactic by Yassir Seirawan, where he discuss how to find tactics and combinations in your own games, I think Silman make a difference between tactical on one hand and combinations on the other. Your question points to a limitation of Silman's conditions for a combination to exist. The funny thing is that I interpreted the word combination as tactics, which probably isn't true. Anyway, his conditions has served me well up to a point in guiding me to when to search for tactics and when not to in my games. I have reach the same conclusion as you that I need your courses especially the ones you mention. But, since I have discovered more issues with my play after the watching your rating climb series, I have decided to go all in and I have thus bought all your courses without the extra video. I think I need to rebuild my foundation in a proper way. I will do the courses one at the time in, what I think is, the natural order starting with your calculation course, which I so far find to be great, ending with the art of series: exchanges first, then awakening followed by burying and multipurpose last.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

@@jonnyjansson7320 That is so fantastic to hear, thank you so much for getting all my courses! And please do not hesitate asking me anything while studying those! Always happy to answer. Also very curious about your future progress after studying those courses, so please keep me posted!

[@erikfromc]

Homework position: lots of lovely improving moves, but a loose bishop and cramped knight immediately catch my eye. g4 forces the Knight to one of two spots. If it goes to f6, then g5 forks the B and K. If the knight instead goes to g7, then f5 simply traps the B.

[@erikfromc]

And now of course, I see someone has already provided this answer. Oh well, at least now I know I might have found this in a game!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Lovely to hear that! Excellent.

[@ThortheMerciless]

I don't see the puzzle ratings as being serious, because you are told there's a tactic. It's much harder in an actual game, because you don't know whether there's a tactic or not and you only have a limited amount of time to spend trying to find a tactic, or a strategic idea - you cannot be spending time on every move. Having an idea of what might be available is down to what I call your chess intuition and, from what I can see, that is what determines strength. Better players have a better feeling for when there are tactics available and what they might be, plus a wider range of strategic idea to draw upon, when there are no (working) tactics. Clearly anything that can help improving that intuition is good and these videos certainly get one's chess intuition tingling. Thanks.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

I loved this comment, thank you!

[@dleddy14]

Looks like we can get either a fork or a trapped piece with g4. Weaknesses that stand out are the Knight on the rim and a hanging bishop. Took me a while. Your videos fill a huge gap I was finding in online chess tutorials and puzzle exercises.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thanks, excellent! I am really glad to hear your thoughts 🙏 Please do not hesitate sharing the channel with your friends ☺️

[@AgentSmith-w8s]

Really really good video upload with some very sound advice,this channel is the best for chess 100% Nxe5 is the lovely trick that made me start playing the french,when it comes off the other player lashes out in anger 9 times out of ten for not seeing it and gets a worse position or better still blunders.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you for the feedback! That is such a recurrent French pattern indeed!

[@eschiedler]

I hope your vacation is going well. homework spoiler - no engine This position is an endgame of equal material with neither side having a weak king nor a passed pawn. However, white's pieces are better coordinated. g4 Nf6 g5 e4 dxe4 forks the knight and bishop g4 Ng7 g5 e4 Nxe4 traps the bishop g4 e4 Nxe4 Bg7 Bxg7 Nxg7 Nf6+ Kh8 Ng5 is not my preferred line as it allows black to maintain equal material although it allows white to dominate with the knights g4 e4 dxe4 and white wins a piece - the order matters. Black may sac the knight for a pawn with g4 Ng3+ fxg3 Bxe3 gaining an outpost for the bishop on c5. But white should be able to undermine it. White should be able to create a passed pawn on the b-file and win easily.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you! The vacation is going well. Great and detailed answer as always!

[@chimbiepaladin4629]

Homework. That knight smells SO weird at the edge of the board. 😄

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Yes indeed!

[@odinakauduma-stupendousmat749]

Thank you Dr. Can

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Any time 🙏

[@giftphiri4617]

Dr can is my coach on KZbin. Please continue your good works coz am no longer the same in terms on thinking in chess

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much for your kind words 🙏☺️ Really glad to hear this motivating feedback.

[@mohammadnaufal1027]

Great chess lecture 👍

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Glad you think so!

[@KikanKikan-wb1wr]

I am still curios in minute 16.10 if black sacrifice pawn 1..... f4 2.gxf4 ,Ng4 3. h3 , Nh6 and we got open g file If random move 2.Rae1,fxg3 3. hxg3 ,Ng4 and a queen threat mate in h2 ,how about that master please answer ,thank you 🙏🙏🙏👍

[@Dr.CansClinic]

1...f4 is also interesting and thematic in those structures! I guess the drawback is that the c8-bishop is still out of the game. But it is definitely worth consideration, thanks for bringing it up!

[@KikanKikan-wb1wr]

Thank you sir, bishop c8 will be bad bishop

[@raj82388]

One more awesome vid..thanks sir!! Suggestion: Magnus had also highlighted in an interview that the difference between advance and intermediate is that at lower levels players are more afraid of the threats that don't even exist for a move that actually is best in a given position. So is it psychological or lack of positional knowledge or calculation skills or a mixture of all? You can make a vid on this topic as well. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and helping us folks out!!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much! I did not hear Carlsen saying that, interesting! I made a video about phantom fears in chess. studio.kzbin.infoxBGp7L1MLJA/edit Hope it helps!

[@pakasokoste]

g4 and wherever the knight goes either the bishop is trapped or the knight and bishop get forked by g5

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Beautiful!

[@TheChingChongSlayer]

just discovered your channel, amazing content my friend. Got my sub! keep up the good work. P.S. I would love if you could add some content on English and Sicilian :D

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Love hearing it, thank you so much my friend! You should check my openings playlist. I made 2 videos about the Sicilian already. Here is the first one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bKq4YYSFeqyFbZo

[@TheChingChongSlayer]

@@Dr.CansClinic ill check it out, thank you very much!

[@chesslover8829]

I solved six out of the seven puzzles correctly. I only missed the first one. In the homework puzzle, Black's minor pieces are awkwardly placed on the kingside, making them vulnerable to attack by White's g-pawn. GM Larry Evans suggested that we study the games of strong grandmasters. He further suggested that we cover up the moves and then try to determine what was played for both sides, move by move. (I would also recommend using Stockfish to blunder-check the game in search of improvements.) Finally, Larry encouraged us to annotate the game. By so doing, he believed we would acquire a better overall understanding of chess strategy and tactics.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much for the excellent feedback! You are right with the hw puzzle! GM Evans has a very good point with the guess-the-move training. That was my main mode of training for several years too. It simulates a real game environment and fight against isolation and fragmentation.

[@lesegolukas7989]

G4 you are going to win a piece either a fork or a trap on the bishop

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Excellent!

[@brainfellow5140]

Re Homework: What I see: black's knight and bishop on the edge and I think Nd5 is a good move that does several things: 1) beautiful outpost square, stares at several squares near the black king, 2) opens white bishop diagonal a little more, 3) threatens g4 next move on the black knight, and if black knight retreats to only available retreat square g7, then g5 on subsequent move traps black bishop... either way white wins material and gains a great outpost square. I am one of those with high puzzle rating but cannot easily translate into game-play. Your video today was very helpful. I think I will preview your calculation course on chessable on and see if it's something I should do. Thank you for the video, and as always, for being a _great_ teacher!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Super happy to hear that, thank you so much for your kind feedback! You can ask me anything on Chessable if you do decide to study that course. Homework position: You actually mentioned a great idea of g4 in your third point. Does it work on the first move too? ☺️

[@brainfellow5140]

@@Dr.CansClinic Ah, yes it does due to eventual fork at g4 of black knight and bishop (or trapped black bishop if knight retreats to g7). I was so trans-fixed on taking the outpost at d5 first to cutoff black knight escape, and even though g4 was in my plan, I didn't consider it _first_ thank you! I think now that I see it, if I took d5 first, black could refute my plans with f6...

[@KikanKikan-wb1wr]

It too late if white Nd5 ,Ng7 g4 , Ne6 g5 , Bg7 And black is ok , More accurately 1. g4 ,Nf6 2. g5 forking Night and bishop if 1......., Ng7 2. g5 bishop is die ,we get a bishop with one pawn

[@andrejennings1577]

I suggest to all to invest in his Fundamental Chess Calculation Skills course, it will definitely take your chess skills to another level as it did mine ❤

[@Dr.CansClinic]

❤️ That is so motivating to hear, thank you so much for your feedback on the course!

[@tenderloins_]

This course has also taken me to another level! Definitely recommend to anyone reading this

[@ThorstensComment]

I like the puzzles on chesstempo. Mostly you need to find the typical winning tactic, but sometimes you need to find the one defensive move, that does not loose the game.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thanks for the feedback! Do they have any positional exercises as laid out in this video?

[@ThorstensComment]

@@Dr.CansClinic I am not sure, but I don't think so. But at least you are forced to look not only for winning moves.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

@@ThorstensComment Thanks!

[@mudassirali6837]

I would block the pawn on e5 with Knight to E4 from C3. Then pawn to G4 wins the knight.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thanks! How about starting with g4 directly? Can you something good there? :)

[@mudassirali6837]

@@Dr.CansClinic I see, I can then fork the knight and bishop

[@Dr.CansClinic]

@@mudassirali6837 Absolutely!

[@magicvoice0741]

Nd5!!!

[@Dr.CansClinic]

That is a good positional move, but perhaps you are missing a tactical solution? ☺️

[@newstatejim]

A great lesson and I totally agree your calculation course is pure gold, incredible course.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Great to hear that, thank you so much for your kind thoughts on the course. Please do not hesitate sharing it with your chess friends ☺️

[@anthonyjaglal]

An extremely fantastic video 👏💯 this proves that tactics can be made to happen instead of waiting for a tactic to randomly appear,those concepts indicate that a structure exists for a tactic to happen 🎉 great information

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much ❤️

[@MoreThanChess]

Your voice is soothing, I learn better by repetition and you by repeating your intent help me a lot.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

So nice to hear that, thank. you so much 🙏☺️

[@KF1]

Good stuff. For the homework, I like to blockade the backwards pawn with the knight, add pressure by lifting the rook to a6, and even more pressure with f8nally the bishop to a3. If that is not enough, the second knight can maneuver until it, too, adds to the attack on d6!

[@KF1]

Oh also! G4 then G5. Haha it was so hard to see because I was fixated on the center

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Great that you solved it in the end! That was a tricky puzzle indeed!

[@timmarshall4881]

Kn to e4. As a weak player, your videos are a great aid to me in how I think about the overall game.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much for your kind feedback! Ne4 is a good move, but there is a better one. Can we win a piece from this position?

[@ThortheMerciless]

The opening position is an idea that I show all the kids I teach. It comes up a lot, I find, although most of the time only as a threat. Hah, and the second one too.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you for bringing this, it is a recurrent opening pattern indeed!

[@wizzard929]

This video might be one of your best! It picks up the core audience where they struggle, is very practical and ties together a lot of concepts you adress elsewhere. It might be worthy to be pinned to the top of your channel. I am just doing the first Repetition of your course „My opponents move, …“ and I seem to have picked up some chunks and patterns. 🎉

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you so much for your kind thoughts. I now made it the intro video for the channel :) Let's see how many clicks it will get over time! Great that you are studying that course! Did you find it challenging? What is your rating?

[@wizzard929]

Oh that‘s exciting to hear! My Elo is 1200. It was challenging. I got half way to level 3 of the final tests. I will resume thouse, when I am more advanced.

[@jaybingham3711]

8:00 Books don't...no doubt. Sadly, most sites/software fail in that regard too. But not Chesstempo. It hands down has the most powerful tactics trainer around. It's customizable on an incredibly massive/granular scale. And it even folds in spaced repetition to help ensure that you actually get attempts at improving recognition skills. But all that horsepower comes with a cost. No, not 'cost' price-wise. It's more than reasonable in that regard. It's just not particularly user friendly. Precisely because it offers so much. If you're a stronger beginner or intermediate and a good self-starter, it offers every tool under the sun to help you strategically go about improving tactically.

[@Dr.CansClinic]

Thank you for your feedback! Do they offer mixed puzzles too as mentioned in this video? (positional + tactical puzzles)

[@jaybingham3711]

@@Dr.CansClinic Not out of the can. But it's doable via customization. Check out their Positional Motifs and Themes page. The page lists (and defines) numerous positional motifs (e.g., central control, favorable trade, initiative, good bishop and more) that are then used as tags on Chess Tempo tactics problems. Just customize your session to serve up the positional motifs you want to work on. Or select them all. Want to layer in some tactical motifs too? No problem. Well some problem, I guess...because when you check out the Tactical Motifs and Themes page...be ready. Not a single damn thing left unitemized. It's so comprehensive it literally will take your breath away. CT truly is a beast of a website. Returning to positional training, CT also has a Guess The Move trainer that pulls from a boatload of GM games (including all the classics). A lot of the games are also in some of the more popular game collection books, so if you have some game collection books you could try a GTM game from the book (if they have it) and then review with the book annotations afterwards. Most of the moves made in these games are made for positional rather than tactical reasons. Lastly are the comments section for each problem. Over the many years CT has been around, their huge database of problems are appended with lots of comments. And those comments invariably help one to understand the intricacies and minutiae of any given solution...providing excellent details on not only why a solution is correct. But also why other possible variations aren't as good. Not everyone thinks to go into the comments section. But wow...what a resource it is.

[@jaybingham3711]

@@Dr.CansClinic @Dr.CansClinic Not out of the can. But it's doable via customization. Check out their Positional Motifs and Themes page. The page lists (and defines) numerous positional motifs (e.g., central control, favorable trade, initiative, good bishop and more) that are then used as tags on Chess Tempo tactics problems. Just customize your session to serve up the positional motifs you want to work on. Or select them all. Want to layer in some tactical motifs too? No problem. Well some problem, I guess...because when you check out the Tactical Motifs and Themes page...be ready. Not a single damn thing left unitemized. It's so comprehensive it literally will take your breath away. CT truly is a beast of a website. Returning to positional training, CT also has a Guess The Move trainer that pulls from a boatload of GM games (including all the classics). A lot of the games are also in some of the more popular game collection books, so if you have some game collection books you could try a GTM game from the book (if they have it) and then review with the book annotations afterwards. Most of the moves made in these games are made for positional rather than tactical reasons. Lastly are the comments section for each problem. Over the many years CT has been around, their huge database of problems are appended with lots of comments. And those comments invariably help one to understand the intricacies and minutiae of any given solution...providing excellent details on not only why a solution is correct. But also why other possible variations aren't as good. Not everyone thinks to go into the comments section. But wow...what a resource it is.

[@timwoods3173]

Thank you

[@Dr.CansClinic]

You're welcome